If a new ban remains in place, you won't see Doberman Pinchers in New York City's public housing.

Earlier this year, the New York City Housing Authority tightened their pet restriction, making it one of the strictest for any public housing authority in the country.The new policy bans all dogs over 25 pounds and specifically prohibits all purebred and mixed breed Doberman Pinchers, Pit Bulls and Rottweilers.

Since the new rules were published in an April, the Animal Care and Control of New York City has received 113 surrendered dogs due to the ban, according to a front page story in The New York Times.More than 40 percent have been euthanized because of illness, behavior or lack of space.

The Mayor’s Alliance and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have asked the Housing Authority to stop enforcing the ban.City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez of Manhattan, the chairwoman of the Council’s Subcommittee on Public Housing, has also called for a re-examination of the policy after she discovered one resident with a 28-pound poodle planned to starve the dog until it was under the 25-pound limit.

I understand that keeping track of pets in 178,000 apartments isn’t easy, particularly for an overworked government agency.But setting an arbitrary weight limit and targeting specific breeds doesn’t solve the root of the problem, eliminating dangerous dogs.Wouldn’t a measure of responsible ownership, like the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen test, be a better gauge of well-behaved pets?I realize it’s probably unrealistic, but a dog lover can dream.